Credit-accounting appliance.



A. L. LAMBERT. CREDIT ACCOUNTING APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.15, 1911.

Patented June 25, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR fiz/ozkze jazzzJ awzie/f WITNESSES I l j' 1 y A. L. LAMBERT.

CREDIT ACCOUNTING APPLIANCE. uruouron 11mm AUG. 15, 1911.

Patented June 25, 1 912.

WITNESSES monms'rs ANTOINE LOUIS LAMBERT, OF CONCORDIA, KANSAS.

CREDIT-ACCOUNTING APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1912.

Application filed August 15, 1911. Serial No. 644,158.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTOINE LOUIS LAM- BERT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Concordia, in the county of 5 Cloud and Stateof Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Credit-Accounting Appliance,of which the following is a full, clear, {and exact description. 1

The object of the invent-ion is to provide a new and improvedcredit-accounting appliance more especially designed for the use ofmerchants, to keep the accounts of customers who buy on credit in a verysimple and accurate manner, to allow a salesman to readily ascertain thecustomers account, and to permit such salesman to make additions to thecustomers account. For the purpose mentioned, use is made of areceptacle provided with an index for containing the names of'thecustomers, andindicat-ing characters, and a rack in the said receptacleprovided with pivoted bill holders having their indicating characterscorresponding to the ones on the index.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure l is a perspective View of the credit-accounting appliance inopen position; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same in closed positionand the receptacle shown partly in section; Fig. 3 is a sectional sideelevation of the credit-accounting appliance in open position and withsundry of the bill holders folded back to gain access to aparticulainbill holder; Fig. d is an enlarged perspective view of partof the rack showing the bill holders in closed position; and Fig. 5 is asimilar view of the same showing sundry of the bill holders folded backto display a desired bill holder.

The credit-accounting appliance is pro- 5 vided with a receptacle,preferably made in two sections A, A, connected with each other atadjacent sides by hinges B to per init of swinging one section on top ofthe other with a view to 'close the receptacle and the sections A and A.An index C in the form of a cover is connected by hinges D with tne sideof-the section A provided with the hinges B, to permit of swinging theindex C into the open top of eithersection A.

or A, at the time the sections are in open position, as shown in Fig. 1,it being understood that when the sections are in closed position, asshown in Fig. 2, then the index C is intermediate both open tops of thesections A and A. i

Each of the sections A and A is provided with one or more transversepartitions E, dividing each section into a series of compartments, andin each compartment is arranged. a rack F consisting essentially of acorrugated base F and bill holders F connected at their lower ends byhinges F with the upper edges of the corrugations of the base F. Eachbill holder F is pro-' vided at its upper or free end with an integralangular flange F adapted to rest on the face of the next following billholder,

so that the bill holders are held spaced apart and approximatelyparallel to each other when in normal or folded position, as shown inFig. 2. The first pivoted bill holder F in the upper portion of thecompartment rests on a bill holder F fixed in the com partment andpreferably forming an extension of the corrugated base F of the rack F,and the lastbill holder in the lower portion of a compartment is spaceda distance from the lower end of the compartment to permit of swingingany number of adjacent bill holders toward the lower end and into aninclined position to gain acccess to any one of the bill holders F aswill be readily understood by reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and ltwill'beunderstood, by reference to Figs. 1, 3 and 5, that the bill holders F ineither position rest one against the other, so that the bill holdersneed not be supported by the user of the device when swinging some ofthe bill holders toward the lower end to gain access to a particularbill holder. as in both positions the bill holders are inclined andsupported one upon the other.

Each face of the index C is provided with a number of ruled columns G,corresponding to the corresponding number of compartments in a section Aor A, it being understood that when the index C is swung into the opentop of a sect-ion A, the now uppermost face of the index G contains asmany columns G as there are compartments in the section A, and the otherface of the indexC contains as many columns G as there arecompartmentsin the section A of the receptacle. provided with a ,nameheading H, and the columns contain the namesof the customers, andopposite each name is arranged an Each of ,the'columns G is indicatingcharacter I, and the indicating characters for each column are preferablin the form of consecutive numerals, as wi be readily understood byreference to Fig. 1,

the numerals. corresponding to similar indicating characters 1 arrangedon the upper ends of the bill holders F in a corresponding compartment.A bill K with the name of the customer thereon as well as the name orthe merchandise and the price of the purchaseis placed on a bill holderF having the same indicating character l as corres ends to theindicating character I opposite the name of the particular customer onthe index, it being understood that the bill K is placed on the face ofthe plate holder F and located in the compartment corresponding to thecolumn in which the customers name is located on the index. When thehill holdersl are in closed position none of the bills K are visible,and when some of? the bill holders F are folded down toward the lowerend of the receptacle then only the bill of the particular customer isdisplayed at the time, while the others remain concealed, andconsequently a customer present he time cannot see the accounts of othercustomers. its the successive bill holders 1 are spaced apart owing tothe flanges F it is evident that sufiicient space is provided betweenadjacent bill holders to accommodate the bills, and it will also benoticed that by having the flanges on the upper ends of the bill holdersF a bill cannot pass out of place when swinging one section of ti ereceptacle onto the other. it will further be noticed that oy thearrangement described it is not necessary to provide holding means forthe bills, as the same cannot get out of position unless removed bysalesman or other person in charge of the appliance. The names or thecus tomers are preferably. alphabetically arranged the columns G, itbeing understood that the names indicated on the upper face of the indexC at the time the later is.

p in position in the open top of the section. it.

correspond to the bills in, the bill holders 5 in the section A, and thenames of the customers on the otheriface of the index correspond to thebills contained on t ll bill holders F in the section A.

It is understood that the index C tits into the open top either sectionA. or A and is adapted to rest on top of the partitions E, and the indexC forms a support for the free ends of the bill holders .L' 2 containedin F are in folded position, their upper edges are below the partitionsE, the upper edges of the partitions E are below the tops oil thesections A and A to provide space adapted to be swung into the open torthe accommodation or the index 0. It will further be noticed that whenthe sec tions A and A are in an open position the the index is firmlsupported on either sec tion Am: A, an the customers names for eithersection A or A are displayed to enable the salesman in charge to readilyfind a customers bilhand, it necessary, to remove the same and place iton the index C for writin additional charges on the bill, and returningthe same to the proper place Thus the index is temporarily used as awriting desk, lit should be further pointed out that by corrugating thebase 18" oil the bill holder, each corrugation of which forms the bottomoil one of the bill holding sec- 'tions, the said base may be made inone piece and the bills placed loosely therein, without danger of theiredges being caught by the hinges above, thus obviating the necessity.

of any special bill fastening means.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A credit-accounting appliance, comprising a receptacle made sectionshinged together to close one on the other, index hinged on one or thesections and adapted to form a cover for either section, the said indexcontaining the names of the customers and indicating characters oppositethe said names, and a each of the said sections and comprising acorrugated base and bill holders hinged on the said base and providedwith indicating characters corresponding to those on the said index,each bill holder being provided at its upper free end with an angularfiangefor holding the bill holders spaced apart and for retaining salesslips in position.

2. it credit-accounting appliance, comprising a receptacle, an indexhinged on the said receptacle and adapted to form a cover for the same,the index containing the names of the customers and indicatingcharactersv opposite the said names, and a'raclr in the said. receptacleand comprising a corrugated bottom, and bill holders hinged at theirlower ends to the upper edges of the corrugations of the said base, thefree ends of the said bill holders being prov d with angular flanges forholding the or i holders spaced apart and for retaining the sales slipsin position.

3. A credit-accounting appliance, comprising a receptacle made insections hinged together to close one on the other, the sections havingpartitions forming separate compartments, an index in the form of acover hinged on one of the sections and p of either section when thesections are in open position, each face of the index having a series ofcolumns corresponding the her or compartments in the corresponding lltlsection, and each column being provided with indicating characters, anda rack held in each compartment and comprising a corrugated base andbill holders hinged on the base, each bill holder having an angularflange at the rear of its free end and an indicating. character at itsfront face.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

ANTOINE LOUIS LAMBERT.

Witnesses:

RUBY BENDER, FRED GERARD.

